Auburn football prepares for new look Southern Miss in week 2
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The Auburn Tigers will play their home-opening game of the 2026 college football season in week two when the Southern Miss Golden Eagles come to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Southern Miss went 7-6 in 2025 and finished 7-6 overall with a 5-3 Sun Belt record. They finished second place in the conference's West Division behind the Troy Trojans. This will be the 24th meeting between the two programs, with the Tigers holding an 18-5 advantage.
Here is a preview of the Tigers' second opponent of the 2026 season.
Southern Miss has a new head coach
Southern Miss is led by their third head coach in three seasons. Charles Huff spent just one season in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and is now the head coach for the Memphis Tigers. They will now be led by Blake Anderson, who has a history in the Sun Belt. From 2014 to 2020, Anderson was the head coach at Arkansas State, where he followed former Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin. Anderson posted a 51-37 record and would leave to take over the Utah State program. Anderson served as the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for Southern Miss last season and was named the head coach when Huff accepted the Memphis job.
Offensive overhaul
The 2025 Golden Eagles ranked No. 5 in the Sun Belt with 402.1 yards per game and were the top passing offense at 266.1 yards per game. Quarterback Braylon Braxton was third in the Sun Belt with 3,054 yards and led the conference with 24 touchdowns. However, Braxton will be one of ten starters that Anderson will need to replace. Southern Miss does return last year's backup Landry Lyddy and signed former Illinois quarterback Ethan Hampton. Lyddy started in the Golden Eagles' 41-14 loss to Texas State in the New Orleans Bowl. In that game, he was 29-of-44 for 267 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Hampton only threw four passes in 2025 and played for Northern Illinois for the four seasons prior. He was the starting quarterback for Northern Illinois in their 2024 upset win over Notre Dame. They are also looking to replace running back Jeffrey Pittman and find playmakers for their quarterback. The lone returning starter from the 2025 season is right guard Broderick Roman.
Defense has the same story
While the offense has one returning starter, the defense has zero. That side of the ball lost a total of 20 players to the transfer portal. Nine of those players followed Huff to Memphis. That includes last season's No. 2 leading tackler Mike Montgomery. The Tigers' leading tackler, Chris Jones, transferred to Florida State to leave a hole in the middle of the defense.
Southern Miss will feature former Ole Miss defensive lineman Jeffrey Rush. He was a four-star in-state prospect when he signed with the Rebels in 2024. He did not receive much playing time but could be an impact player for the Golden Eagles. Their secondary is completely rebuilt from the transfer portal. They feature new cornerbacks Champ Lewis (Tulsa) and Jyaire Brown (UCF).
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn football prepares for new look Southern Miss in week 2
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